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THE OTHELLO
BRAND
First
introduced in Japan in 1973, and the U.S. in 1975, Othello game sales have
exceeded $600 million and more than 40 million classic games have been sold
in over 100 different countries, making Othello the best selling licensed
strategy game in the world, according to Anjar Co., the game’s creator and
international licensor. Othello was co-developed by James R. Becker and is one of a very few games ever
to hold the distinction of celebrating its 30th
Anniversary.
OTHELLO AWARDS
The New
York Times Magazine
acknowledged Othello’s enduring success and the fact that
‘over 40 million units’ have been
sold in an article published in November, 2004.
Othello was
recently selected by Playthings Magazine,
the principle Toy Industry publication,
as one of the top 100 ‘Classic Toys of the 20th Century’ still in
production. Othello was also featured during this year’s TOY OF
THE YEAR (T.O.T.Y.) AWARDS slide show. In addition, Othello has
been recognized as a classic game in Toys: Celebrating 100 Years of the
Power of Play, a book published by the Toy Industry Association in
2003. Othello was also recognized in the TIA’s list of ‘One
Hundred of the Century’s Most Treasured Toys’. Othello continues to win numerous awards, including several from the Toy
Industry and one from Dr. Toy for “Best Classic Toys of the 20th
Century”. Other prestigious awards
that Othello has won include the Parents’ Choice ‘Classic Toy Award’
and Games Magazine’s ‘Hall of Fame’. Additionally, the Othello
Slot Machine was recognized as one of the ‘Top 20 Most Innovative Gaming
Products of 2002’.
OTHELLO BRAND MERCHANDISE
Since
its introduction, Othello has appeared in virtually every format as they
have become available.
Beginning with the Atari 2600 in the late
1970’s, and later Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, CD-ROM games, coin-op arcade
machines, and handheld electronic versions,
Othello has utilized the latest technology.
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All of the major phone carriers in the
U.S. and Europe: Verizon, Sprint and Cingular, are now offering Othello
as an interactive cell phone game marketed by Bandai.
They are
playable over the network, so cell phone
users can compete against
other cell
phone users, with each move depicted on both phones.
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Mattel, the world's largest
toy company, and our licensee in the
U.S.,
France, Spain, Greece,
and other European countries,
supports Othello with a major promotional campaign and introduced a new Car-Go
Othello in the U.S. and Europe in 2005.
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IGT, the world's largest slot machine
manufacturer, recently released a new progressive
slot system called Fort Knox.
The
IGT Othello Slot Machine link
is:
http://www.igt.com/games/new_games/othello.html.
There is also an Othello Slot Machine demonstration at
http://www.ledgaming.com/othello/index.htm
that you may be interested in playing.
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Sababa Toys is marketing licensed
versions of Othello, including: Simpsons, Major League Baseball,
National Football League, and soon, Shrek.
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Alga/Brio football (soccer) versions of Othello were released in
Scandinavia.
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Licensed by Becker Associates LLC,
Othello tablecloths, placemats, seat cushions and doormats will be
introduced by Riverson Intl. Co. in 2007.
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Becker Associates also
licensed Instant and Online Othello Lottery
Tickets to MDI Entertainment for territories that include the United States,
Canada, Mexico, Australia, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Norway and
Sweden.
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Other licensed Othello merchandise includes
Parity, the
Othello Card Game, manufactured by U.S. Games Systems Inc. and Othello Key
Chains, manufactured by Fun-4-All. Many Othello books have also
been published around the world.
OTHELLO FEDERATIONS
There are Othello Federations in virtually every
European country that sponsor local, regional and national tournaments and
also publish newsletters. There are Federations in the US, UK, France,
Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland,
Japan, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Poland, Czech Republic, Canada, Belgium,
Russia and Singapore. Membership in the French Othello Federation
totals several hundred active players some of whom have been involved since
the beginning. The French Othello Federation publishes a 28-page quarterly
magazine and sponsors a summer camp for playing and teaching Othello.
THE WORLD OTHELLO CHAMPIONSHIP (WOC)
The World Othello Championship
has been held in recent years in Athens, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Iceland,
London, Milan, Paris, Tokyo, Stockholm and Melbourne. The 32nd Annual World Othello Championship will
be held
in Oslo in November, 2008; contestants representing
more than twenty-five countries will compete for thousands of dollars in prizes and the coveted
‘Othello Cup’. No other licensed game can boast this number of
consecutive world championship tournaments.
The 30th World Othello Championship was
held in Mito City, Japan from October 5-9, 2006. Eighty-four
contestants from 27 countries competed in what was considered the highest
level of competition ever. You can find more information and links at
the
http://www.WorldOthelloChampionships.com website.
OTHELLO BRAND LICENSEES AND RETAIL PARTNERS CONTINUE TO EXPAND
In the U.S.,
France, Spain, Greece,
and other European countries, the Othello game is being manufactured by Mattel.
Bookings for the classic Othello are up 40% over last year in the U.S.
This is due in part to the expanded distribution channels for Othello, which
include virtually every major toy and game retailer throughout the U.S.,
including Target,
Kmart/Sears
and
KB Toys,
as well as being a year round item for Toys R
Us and many others.
Several key retailers have created “classic game displays” that promote
Othello.
Othello sales in France have led European
countries over the past several years. In the U.K., Character Toys
nearly tripled Othello sales in 2005 vs. 2004. Brio/Alga, our licensee in
Scandinavia, launched a promotional campaign
with one of the leading Football teams with a special edition Othello using
the teams colors. Universal Cards of Germany is our newest European
licensee for Othello.
JOIN THE OTHELLO BRAND FAMILY OF LICENSEES
Othello is an instantly recognizable ‘classic’ game brand with sales that
exceed all other licensed strategy games. Clearly, Othello has had a
significant impact on the American gaming culture. As suggested by its tag
line, ‘A Minute to Learn…A Lifetime to Master,’ Othello encompasses a
unique combination of attributes: simplicity, yet strategic depth, which
help to make it the most successfully licensed strategy game of the 20th
Century. 2004
was the 30th Anniversary of Othello. There are just a
handful of games that have lasted as long as Othello has and we have
received an incredible amount of interest in licensing Othello merchandise.
It just seems to be a natural in this age of nostalgia.
We have
hundreds of
Othello Brand new product concepts available for immediate licensing in many categories. If you are interested in
discussing how you can become an
Othello Brand licensee, please contact us at
OthelloLicenseeInfo@BeckerAssoc.com.
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